World Book Day marks the launch of Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge!

World Book Day marks the launch of Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge!

As children cross the globe celebrate annual World Book Day with an abundance of Roald Dahl literature-led activities, in the United States the hunt begins for FIVE NEW GOLDEN TICKET winners!

World Book Day has grown over the years with many schools and libraries now participating in book-inspired Dress Up Days, and the much-loved characters of the world’s number one storyteller, Roald Dahl, are high amongst the children’s choice of costume. The hugely successful Smiffy’s Dress Up range now includes Willy Wonka, Fantastic Mr Fox, Matilda and The BFG, and is widely distributed including at Sainsbury’s, Asda and Tesco.

George’s Marvellous Medicine is creating magic too this year as Penguin Random House launches an added-value version of the novel plus an all-new George’s Marvellous Experiments book, full of wild and wonderful science fun you CAN try at home.

World Book Day 2017 also marks a monumental day for the brand as Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge is launched in the United States. The Roald Dahl Literary Estate, Penguin Young Readers, and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, in conjunction with Langley Park Productions and Neal Street Productions, have kicked off the challenge that stars Willy Wonka himself.

For the first time since Charlie Bucket won the prize of a lifetime, Mr. Wonka is offering the chance for five US children aged 5-12 to become lucky Golden Ticket winners – but this time it’s not chocolate he’s churning, it’s pure imagination. The contest asks children and their teachers not to imagine small, but to IMAGINORMOUS and come up with their most inventive story ideas.

The five Golden Ticket Winners will be rewarded beyond their wildest imaginations. Not only will they experience theatre visits and a trip to the UK but will also have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to Wonka-fy their own idea! Some of Wonka’s most trusted friends and partners will transform the ideas into a theatrical creation, a Hollywood pitch, a short story book, a candy, and even a Minecraft world.

Stephanie Griggs, Licensing and Design Manager at the Roald Dahl Literary Estate said: “World Book Day is always a special day in the Roald Dahl calendar. This year, we’ve got fantastic retail support across this and a number of other categories, and we’re really looking forward to seeing which of Roald Dahl’s well-loved stories the nation’s children choose to dress up as, and read!”

Bernie Hall, Brand Marketing Manager at the Roald Dahl Literary Estate said: “We are very excited to launch Roald Dahl’s Imaginormous Challenge – starring Willy Wonka. Following a year of celebration for Roald Dahl’s centenary in 2016, it feels very fitting to be embarking on this mission to inspire creativity and inventive story writing amongst children across the US. We cannot wait to see entrants story ideas and to witness the incredible transformations our fantastic line-up of prizing partners will perform.”

Roald Dahl was a spy, ace fighter-pilot, chocolate historian and medical inventor. He was also the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The BFG and many more brilliant stories.

He remains the World’s No.1 storyteller.

Born in Cardiff of Norwegian descent, Roald Dahl (1916–1990) joined the RAF at the age of 23 and began writing, initially for adults, after being injured in a plane crash during WW2.

Sitting in a hut at the bottom of his garden, surrounded by odd bits and pieces such as a suitcase (used as a footrest), his own hipbone (which he’d had replaced) and a heavy ball of metal foil (made from years’ worth of chocolate wrappers), he went on to write some of the world’s best-loved children’s stories. His first children’s story, James and the Giant Peach, was published in 1961, was a hit and every subsequent book became a best-seller.

Today, his stories are available in 59 languages and, by a conservative estimate, he has sold more than 200 million books. Many of these stories have also been adapted for stage and screen, including the 1971 film classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Wes Anderson’s acclaimed Fantastic Mr Fox, and the multi-award winning Matilda The Musical from the RSC with music by Tim Minchin. The latest Roald Dahl story to hit the big screen was Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of The BFG, in July 2016.

Roald Dahl said, “If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”